Deadline:
February 29, 2008
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Summer 2008 Research
Opportunities
Application Form
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Project Title:
Implementation and Testing of a System for Computer-Controlled
Drilling in Mastoid Surgery
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| Primary Investigators:
J Michael Fitzpatrick, PhD and Robert F. Labadie, MD, PhD
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Brief Description of Project:
Typical ear surgery procedures utilize a high-speed surgical drill to
remove a portion of the temporal bone, called the mastoid, located just
behind the external ear. This surgery is akin to an archeological dig as
there are vital landmarks which are to be avoided. These landmarks are
recognizable in pre-intervention CT scans, but they are below the
surface and are recognizable during surgery only when they are
uncovered. Because surgeons do not have “x-ray vision”, they depend upon
experience in knowing where these vital structures are located. This
experience is not always adequate. We propose technology that may make
ear surgery safer by turning off the high-speed surgical drill when it
comes within close proximity of specified landmarks identified in the
pre-intervention CT. Central to our project is implementation of
image-guided surgical technology based on pre-intervention radiographic
imaging. If it works, the surgeon will be able safely to avoid injuring
vital structures, even without x-ray vision!
In order to determine when to stop the drill, it is necessary to relate
the position of the drill to the anatomy. In this project, the anatomy
is mapped by means of a CT image obtained pre-operatively, in which
critical anatomical structures have been outlined. These structure
include the facial nerve, the brain, the carotid artery, the internal
jugular vein, the cochlear, and the semicircular canals. The student
will write portions of code for a computer program that calculates the
position of the drill relative to these vital structures and sends a
stop signal when it is about to violate one of these structures. A
real-time tracking system continually provides the drill position
relative to a laboratory coordinate system. The student will write code
to relate that position to the anatomy. Programming will be done in both
C++ and Matlab (Mathworks, Inc., Natick, MA), so the student must be
proficient in both languages. A working prototype of this system already
exists in our laboratory, and the proposed student will augment,
improve, and refine this system.
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Nature of Supervision:
The student will work under the supervision of Drs. Fitzpatrick and
Labadie with the assistance of Laboratory Manager, Ramya Balachandran.
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A Brief Research Plan (period is for 10 weeks):
The student will first be taught the basics of image registration and
its application to surgery. Intensive training in these basics will
begin on the first day and extend through the first month, but knowledge
of this area will be gained throughout the summer program. In the first
week the student will be introduced to the working prototype and to the
specific problem to be solved. That problem involves the completion of
the code for implementing the system for controlling the drill relative
to CT anatomy and testing its accuracy on cadaveric specimens. The
student will work on that problem throughout the remainder of the
program but will also be exposed to other projects ongoing in the
laboratory, including robotic drilling, minimally invasive cochlear
surgery, and laser-guided surgery.
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Number of Open Slots:
1
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Contact Information:
J. Michael Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.
Professor of Computer Science, Computer Engineering,
Electrical Engineering, Neurosurgery, and Radiology
363 Jacobs Hall
400 24th Ave. S.
Nashville, TN 37212
615-322-2796
j.michael.fitzpatrick@vanderbilt.edu |
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